The Chinese logistics firm Speedaf is setting up in several Swiss cities.
screenshot: Speedaf
Chinese online retailers Temu and Shein are creating a flood of parcels into Switzerland. A Chinese logistics firm is looking to capitalise on this phenomenon.
Massive advertising and aggressive low prices: the Chinese online retailers Temu and Shein are already firmly established in Switzerland, and are rapidly taking market share away from local online shops.
Now a Chinese logistics firm is also making inroads into the Swiss market. Speedaf is currently setting up a parcel network here which, according to Swiss federal technology institute ETH expert Stephan Wagner, could quickly reach a significant scale.
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This is because the planned sorting capacity of up to 50,000 parcels a day is substantial for a new entrant, says the professor of logistics. At full capacity, this would amount to around 15 million parcels a year.
Speedaf could also put pressure on the dominant logistics providers – Swiss Post and DPD – in terms of pricing. Wagner points out that little can be said about the pricing structures at present. However: “It may well be that parcel delivery becomes cheaper in the medium term.”
Furthermore, there is certainly room for another strong player in the growing parcel market. This is particularly true given the sharp rise in parcel imports from China. “And this is precisely the area Speedaf intends to focus on initially,” said Wagner.
Speedaf is currently building its own Swiss parcel network. Plans include a sorting centre covering around 4,000 square metres, capable of handling up to 50,000 parcels a day, plus regional distribution centres in Zurich, Bern and Lausanne.
Founded in 2019, the logistics company has been operating in Switzerland for a few months.
The company is already active in more than 30 countries and handles parcels from Shein, Temu and Aliexpress, amongst others.
The Chinese parcel giant ZTO Express is one of its founding shareholders.
According to Wagner, Chinese logistics firms are increasingly seeking to organise international transport themselves, right through to the last mile in Europe.
Should Speedaf establish itself firmly in Switzerland via international parcel delivery, the Chinese logistics firm could become a serious competitor for Swiss Post.
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“If the network is stable and deliveries are reliable, Swiss mail-order companies and smaller firms could also switch to Speedaf,” Wagner said. “That would certainly pose a threat to Swiss Post.”
Switzerland’s small size an advantage
Furthermore, Switzerland’s compact geography is fundamentally an advantage when it comes to building a nationwide network, Wagner added. “With one distribution centre and a few depots, you can cover a lot of ground here quickly. In larger countries such as France, that’s not so easy.”
However, the costs are high. Wagner considers it sensible that Speedaf intends to rely on local delivery partners for the last mile. This enables market entry without first having to build up its own fleet of vehicles and a large number of delivery staff.
Translated from German, sub-edited by Matthew Allen/sb
